Campaign of the Month:
January 2012

Star Trek Late Night

Fraal

Physical Structure: The small-statured Fraal have pale grayish skin, large opaque black eyes and large, usually bald craniums. Their drop-shaped faces have only small slits for nostrils, ear-holes and mouths. Those Fraal who do have hair sport stringy strands of silvery gray, pale yellow or white. Fraal have spindly, elongated limbs, five slender digits on each hand and almost waspwaisted torsos, giving them a frail look.

Senses: Fraal have excellent eyesight that expands slightly into the ultraviolet and infrared regions beyond human, but their tiny ear-holes don’t capture sound nearly as well as humans’ do. Because of this, Fraal are quite visually-oriented.

Speech: Fraal speak as to most sentient races, with a larynx and air pumped from lungs. Their voices are soft and usually higher-pitched than those of humans. Fraal can speak any human tongue, but their native communication is often supplemented by their telepathic ability, which most other sapients can not match.

Society & Customs: The scientifically-oriented Fraal travel the universe in vast colony ships, having long ago fled the destruction of their home. Their focus on mental abilities has given them a logical and controlled society, and their small bodies have given them a distaste for physical tasks, especially violence.

The most highly-regarded of studies among the Fraal are those dealing with their mental powers. This is the closest Fraal get to religion and philosophy, and they see very little value in artistic pursuits, which usually rely on intuition and emotion – things the Fraal have taken pains to suppress and control. Fraal also highly value scientific inquiry, especially with regards to exploration and learning more about other sapient races.

Because of their tight emotional control (much greater than the positive-focused Aleerins) Fraal are often humorless without actually being dour. They carry an air of politely putting up with jokes and debates about such intangibles as philosophy among members of other species, patiently waiting to take logical control of the situation once more.

Because their emotions are suppressed, not destroyed, Fraal can and often do
form lasting and loyal – but subtle – friendships with sapients of many other species. Someone befriended by a Fraal may not even know it until the Fraal does something drastic, such as overcoming her usual retiring nature in a physically dangerous situation in order to save her friend.

Attitudes: Fraal are considered somewhat timid, but they are also relentless in their pursuit of knowledge. They recognize the potential of any sapient species and regard art and humor with something of a parental view of children’s play. Fraal are willing to share their vast stores of knowledge with others, but they often take a long view of such things, examining the possible consequences before doling out secrets.

Among their own kind, fraal react with disdain toward any Fraal who has abandoned the path of reason and embraced such things as art or religion. The cold cruelty with which ‘normal’ Fraal treat these ‘insane’ social renegades is nearly universal, for according to the Fraal to accept such things is to open the door to them in oneself.